News

Here is a Secret: they are solid

Tue 9th Jan 2018 - 1:21pm

Ocean Esports wishes you all a happy and pleasant year in 2018! Now that the Christmas break is over and that we are pumped up by our brand new Dota resolutions, it is time for the Dota Pro Circuit to get back to competition. The season is far from being over - it is actually not even halfway done - and there are still many more points to earn in the race for TI8. For all the diehard fans that missed Dota during this break, Captains Draft 4.0 is currently being played and several other qualifiers are taking place during the coming month. The second part of this season will surely create a lot of hype, suspense and surprise that you do not want to miss. Here is a complete summary of what is coming ahead, what we can expect and the games/events that you might want to take a look at. And as always, the freshest news handed over to you on a silver platter.

For the second time this season, Valve took us to the USA for the first Minor tournament of 2018. Eight teams were facing each other, with only two of those teams currently in the top five of the Dota Pro Circuit. This tournament was the opportunity to close the gap between the top teams and the other ones lagging behind, especially for OG, EG and VG who have had a more difficult early season. Team Secret came in as leader and favorite of the competition, and once more they did not disappoint with their performance. By winning the tournaments against VG during the finals, Secret extended its lead and is now far ahead of everyone in the general team standings.

Captain’s Draft 4.0 was a rather small tournament featuring a different game mode than the usual Captains Mode. The tournament consisted of one group phase with two groups leading to direct knockout playoffs. The first group was the hardest one in which Mineski and VG took the lead in front of Secret and Empire, the other group had the underdogs with OG and EG taking the two first places. During the playoffs, the lower tier teams got kicked out first without really bothering the better teams. EG who was the crowd’s favorite did not match Secret’s level and did not pass the quarterfinals. OG and Mineski had satisfying performances until the semifinals, andagain we saw a clear difference in composure and synergy on the side of VG and Secret. These two teams had a ferocious series during the finals and provided us with original drafts due to the game mode chosen. Secret won the tournament by winning 3-2 over VG by showing in all the games that they were currently the leader for a good reason.

This week marks the start of the qualifying games for all regions in the Dota2 scene for the first Polish Major tournament. The top tier teams already being invited, this will be another opportunity for smaller teams to show themselves and participate in a Major competition. Among the top teams having to fight for a spot in the tournament you have OG and Empire in the EU and CIS region, Optic Gaming, Complexity, and Infamous in North and South America, and in Asia; LFY, IG, Fanatic and TNC still have to prove themselves in their respective regions.

NA qualifiers currently being played with Optic Gaming and Complexity being the favorite teams to qualify.

NA bracket final: Thursday 11/01 23:00 CET

In the Chinese bracket, VG and LFY are the teams expected to have the greatest chance to qualify.

China bracket final: Friday 12/01 23:00 CET

After their convincing performance during the Captains Draft minor, Mineski are hoping to get a next entry ticket to a minor tournament.

SEA bracket final: Friday 12/01 09:00 CET

Freshest News

-Universe quit Evil Geniuses: this is the biggest news and the most surprising one in the Dota Pro Circuit. After playing for EG for a total of more than 4 years, the team decided to change its roster and seperate ways with Universe. EG now recuited Misery as a mid player, forcing Sumail to take the offlaner's role from now on. Let's see how this turns out and if it will help EG stepping up their game for the rest of the season.

-Galaxy Battles II cancelled as a Valve Major: after having problems with delivering visas for players and issues regarding drug testing for all players, Vavle decided to remove the Major title to the tournament. This lead already four teams to drop out from the competition as it does not provide any points for the race to TI8: Secret, Liquid, Virtus.Pro and Optic Gaming.

At Ocean esports our purpose is to help gamers improve and meet people. We want to build a platform for skill development, challenge the perception of gamers and creat e global, safe, E-sports community by attracting people who want to grow and take pride in our community. To achieve this we organize tournaments, inclusive events, organize scrimmages, workshops, and provide game-related content via our media channels. All of us are passionate about competition, hailing from sports… Read More